Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Back On The Road


We had a bit of rain last night so everything sparkled.

I am packed and almost ready to go on my witchy adventure♡. The 4 of us are meeting in Maine tomorrow for "The Wooly Witches Of Wells." hook in. 
I have so much stuff husband asked if I was moving out lol.
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Have a wonderful rest of your week.

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Autum Joy

My daily walks are getting so pretty!!!

Even the browns are beautiful.

Our colors here are at peak and rain is coming in tonight and tomorrow which will bring a lot of the leaves down. 

Our morning coffee view.

I started the snow and tree on this rug. I am not sure that this is the correct color for the tree. I see my teacher and friend on Wed. I am now hooking with a 3 yikes! and if you know hooking you know that is s-m-a-l-l. 

And because I don't have enough hobbies I am now knitting a sweater. Ok teaching myself how to knit a sweater. I have friends who knit that I can go to for help thankfully. I bought cheap yarn for my first sweater just incase I get frustrated and give up. 
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Hiking with a friend is cancelled for tomorrow. It is suppose to rain most of the day and if it should clear up, hiking on wet slippery leaves does not appeal to either of us.
I will use that time to pack and get my things together for my trip to Maine on Thur. for a few days.  I am going to the wooly witches hook in with my dear friends. We are all staying together in Donna's cottage. We always laugh and enjoy each other so much ( and eat and eat) when we are together. 
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Another hurricane my heart is so sad. The poor people of NC. 
It makes me so grateful everyday for this life I have. 
Have a wonderful week and if you are in Florida stay safe. 



Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Quebec!

We decided last minute to drive to Quebec Canada and ohhhh I am so glad we did. The weather was great and Quebec is beautiful.

I took so many pictures and I will not bore you with all of them so here are a few highlights. The sweet painting on the trim of this building. 

We visited the Cathedral of Notre-Dame De Quebec


Such a beautiful old church.

This is a mural painted on the side of the building. Documenting the history of Quebec.

This city is like being in europe and so much walking! 
We stayed in lovely hotels in the heart of the old part of the city. 
We honeymooned here 49 years ago this week. Now where did that time go???


On the way home the colors were beautiful but some of the color has passed which is early. On our trip up we were in the fog the whole way. It is a 5 hour drive from here and I do hope we go again at some point. 
Tomorrow I have a blood draw for an upcoming physical. It should be really good after croissants for breakfast every morning and good wine lol.
Have a wonderful week!

Sunday, September 29, 2024

A Walk With A Friend

I met up with my sweet friend on Sat. We went to our favorite thrift and then for a nice long walk. Not much color across the lake.
Well we walked so much we became hungry and thirsty. Voila! one of our favorite places was open, we got great seats overlooking the lake. It was so nice to chat and spend time with her. We have some fun plans in October. 
I did a bit of decorating today. It is a busy month and I am hosting my woman's group in a couple of weeks so I wanted some of my spooky things out before it got to busy.
The little fall trees I got at the thrift on sat. 3 of them for 1.50. They look so cute in my cupboard. I also scored a great black dress for an upcoming rug hooking event where we all dress as witches!
This is a very distorted picture of a piece of a rug I am working on. 
It is a German fairy tale rug, and way out of my comfort zone!
I am working in very small cuts. I am also working with a teacher every couple of weeks. I needed to stretch my skills. I had quite a bit done on my own and she felt only a couple of things needed a bit of tweaking so I call that a win!



So the apple bread. I baked it in a pan shaped like this. You have to make sure it is well greased. But it is so pretty when it comes out.
oatmeal apple bread recipe Remember it is dense but sooo good. I keep it in the frig between eating. I heat it on med heat in a dry cast iron frying pan. 
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And before I go a shout out to my Son in Law Ron!
Happy Birthday! May this year be filled with great health and lots of fun!

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

The Last of The Harvest

I pulled what I think is the last of my veggies for this year. I do still have green beans and a variety of herbs in the ground. I will dry some of the herbs for winter use but not sure how many more green beans I will get. 

 
Remember we went apple picking last weekend? I used some of those apples to make an apple bread. A new recipe for me and holy breakfast is it good!!! It has a very different texture more like baked oatmeal. I cut husband and I two slices and toasted them in my dry cast iron frying pan, and it kept me full until well into the afternoon. 
Now I just need to find the recipe again on line to write it down. 

Today I went to a rug hooking class I have signed up for, for every other week until December. (I am working on a rug that is way above my skills. More on that later).  When I got home I made a beef stew and some cheesy drop biscuits. One of the hits was to drop them in a muffin tin. What a good hint. The outsides were crispy and lovely, and inside warm and soft.

I started the task of cleaning up and cutting back gardens and got side tracked when I saw this stick all I could think of was a broom. 
I just added sticks and things from around the yard. 
The days are getting shorter and shorter it is time to tuck in at night.
I somehow have 3 different projects going a the same time. A little stitching, A little knitting, and a little hooking. I guess I am trying to keep myself busy until it is time for the days to start to get longer.
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Lots of rain coming in tonight and into the day tomorrow.
There is a final church sale of the season tomorrow. I will probably chance the bad weather for a look.
To my friends in the south I am thinking of you and sending prayers. Please stay safe. 

Sunday, September 22, 2024

The Scent Of Fall

We had a bit of rain yesterday and just before sunset voila!
It was a double rainbow but the top one was so faint I could not get it with my phone. 

I am walking everyday. when the leaves fall and start to dry up there is an earthy smell that I love. If only candles smelled like that. 

Today we took a ride to an apple orchard we had never been to before.

And after seeing this I have no  idea what took us to long to visit!
The views were amazing!!

Several varieties of plump juicy apples.

A family cemetery, such a lovely area. 2 young brothers run the orchard now.
He said his parents bought the property in the 70s. What a legacy! 

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Just a little cooking how to. I had baked a butternut squash.
I cut the squash in half scooped out the seeds added bit of butter over it about a tablespoon over the whole thing. baked until soft at 400.
No need to peel. Just scoop out after baked. 
 I had some leftover from having it as a side dish with another meal. 

I took the leftover squash added some chicken stock until I was happy with the consistency and then added a little bit of cream to make it rich. Add what spices you like, I had an immersion blender to make it smooth. It was so perfect and a great way to use up leftovers. 

My daughter and I both love dilly beans. I am still getting string beans but not a lot. I had enough to fill this jar. I had just eaten the last of store bought dill pickles I had. I boiled the leftover pickle juice poured it over the beans in the jar. put it in the frig. And oh man perfect! I am hoping to make another jar before my beans quit for the season. 

The little old cemetary on my walk so peaceful.
Have a wonderful week.


Thursday, September 19, 2024

How Much Wood ?

The weather here is still very summer like and very unusual.
We will be cooler next week, more to normal temps but because we have been so warm I think it will be a shock.
My burning bush is starting to turn. But the poor plants and trees are becoming very dry from the heat.
Those crazy geraniums are still going.
And my hydrangea is very happy.
Happy zinnias, next year I am planting packages and packages of them.
Today we started the big job of bringing wood in for the winter. We do not burn as much as we use to. And who knows how many more years we will continue to do this. But when there is a storm howling outside that fireplace feels pretty darn good.
So how much wood can an old couple chuck? About a cord. 

A couple of friends and I traveled to the talk on herbs as medicine. The woman presenting had a lot of knowledge and I do think I will visit her shop soon. She was talking about medicinal weeds. She said she finds they show up in her garden just when she needs them most. Nature is a wonderful thing.
She gave us garden tea, enough for a couple of cups. 
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Someone asked if the lake we were on last weekend (squam) was were On Golden Pond was filmed? And yes it is!!! If you have never seen it you are missing out on a real treat. 
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I had to drop my car early this morning for new brakes. Husband took me to breakfast. We both have had heartburn since. Ugg!
Have a great week!

Monday, September 16, 2024

Summer's End?

Yesterday we celebrated my daughter's birthday. A few days late.
A brunch at a lovely scenic place.

When I say my daughter's age I think how can that be true? How fast the years tick by. And our lovely grand growing up by the minute!

 
It was mimosas and yummy meals all around.  

Then long time friends invited us to a boat ride and dinner.
I tried to catch all the loons together. There were 8 loons together which is rare. But I wonder if they are getting ready to fly south for the winter.

This is squam lake. There was a haze from the Canadian wildfires in the air. But the colors are starting to turn and it was a warm lovely evening, and perfect company who could ask for more? 

This popped up on my facebook account. When our grand was born not long after my husband got very sick and needed a bone marrow transplant so for our Sweet B's first year she thought we lived in a computer because we were quarantined. She is two here I think or not quite and we are apple picking. 

 
And this was yesterday with these two. She is our one and only and the love of our life. 

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I have fun plans for later this afternoon. Hiking with my sweet friend. It is a gorgeous day. And tomorrow I am going to a talk on herbal practices and a tea. So the summer weather goes on for us here. No complaints from me. I could take this weather all year round but we know it will not last so love it while it is here. 
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Have a wonderful week!